Paper Flowers
by Fujin Kazano
Summary: (Quiefer) Quistis seeks a little getaway near Galbadia. In the midst of her relaxation she runs into a wanted man and love blooms. But retribution and punishment seek out Seifer, destroying his life as soon as he has found what he truely wants; love.
1. Dreamer

_A/N: The song is "Imaginary" by Evanescence.  
  
Just a warning: This is going to be a tragedy due to my allergies of happy endings! QUIEFER FOREVER!!!!!_  
  
-

**_Paper Flowers_**

**CHAPTER ONE: Dreamer**  
  
Pa-per-flow-ers  
  
"But he isn't a criminal... is he?" Quistis thought to herself as she stared at the cold picture of Seifer Almasy near the dormitory hall. He had a bounty on his head and a few SeeDs had been dispatched to find him! "He didn't do anything wrong..."  
  
_I linger in the doorway  
  
of alarm clock screaming monsters calling my name  
  
Let me stay   
  
where the wind will whisper to me  
  
Where the rain drops as their falling tell a story.  
_  
"Dead or alive... how awful!" Quistis said. The poster said that Seifer was going to be on trail for the murder of several SeeD candidates, taking over Galbadia Garden, conspiring with the sorceress... Galbadia sure wanted him dead! Perhaps they wanted to prevent any further murders... But... Seifer's story was one of tragedy, not one of conspiracy and murder!  
  
Quistis looked up at the cloudy sky as she slowly walked to her dormitory. Specs of rain fell down upon her and spotted her small reading glasses. 'Seifer is like the rain...' she thought, 'he comes and goes when he can... but he had no choice in when to let go or hold on... he was a prisoner inside the his body.. he just needed to be released, as the rain is from a cloud.'  
  
_in my field of paper flowers  
  
and candy clouds of lullaby  
  
i lie inside myself for hours  
  
and watch my purple sky fly over me  
_  
"It's too late..." Quistis thought aloud as she looked around her dormitory, then got undressed. She slid into her night gown and laid down in her bed, letting the sound of the rain drops sooth her thoughts and carry her into a well deserved sleep.   
  
Behind her eyes, she was sent to her heart. She imagined herself surrounded in flowers with those she loves and only saw smiling faces. The blond beauty looked up at the drizzling sky and smiled at the lightly colored rain clouds. She lifted her hands up to the sky, feeling free and weightless.  
  
_Don't say I'm out of touch  
  
With this rampant chaos- your reality  
  
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge  
  
The nightmare that I built my own world to escape_  
  
Thunder and lightening crashed and awoke Quistis from her dream within a dream. Her fading image was surrounded by darkness and she was alone. Everyone had flown away into the light, leaving Quistis behind! The flowers around her had died and become dark, when she tried to walk on them, then crumbled and tore like paper. She looked around in panic, in search for any source of light, then spotted a small violet about 5 meters away. It was glowing a light purple color, and Quistis ran to it.  
  
_in my field of paper flowers  
  
and candy clouds of lullaby  
  
i lie inside myself for hours  
  
and watch my purple sky fly over me_  
  
The flowers underneath the instructor tore and crumbled beneath her feet, but she still fought to get to the violet. When she did, Quistis knelled down beside it and touched the brilliant light that continued to grow lighter. Lightening struck above her and she tried her best to ignore the sounds and flashes... Her blue eyes widened as she looked into the flower.. "Seifer!" She gasped, then closed her mouth with a pale hand. She was there, too! They.. were running... the scenery was... swirling.. spiraling downwards... Quistis found herself laying on her back staring at the sky.. the clouds swirled above her and the rain caressed her skin.  
  
"Quistis!" Seifer's voice rang violently, ripping the sky from Quistis's world and bringing her to life. She sat up, then looked at all the rain drops around her... a violent CRASH of thunder made the instructor jump, and the lightening took her breath away. She gasped as she held her chest... no more air was getting to her lungs! Quistis screamed as loud as she could, but her call for help was covered by the thunder in the raging sky. She stood and tried to run... to where? She didn't know.. but she had to run!  
  
_swallowed up in the sound of my screaming  
  
cannot cease for the fear of silent nights  
  
oh how i long for the deep sleep dreaming  
  
the goddess of imaginary light  
  
_ "No... no.. don't... I.. I.. I CAN'T BREATHE!" Quistis screamed in the middle of the night. Her eyes opened just as quickly as she sat up in her bed. The former instructor looked around her small and familiar room... she was back in her room... "Just a dream," Quistis sighed. These dreams... they were getting worse with each night and it was costing her the few precious hours of sleep she once received.   
  
"Another nightmare..." Quistis said aloud to herself and she brought her knees up to her chest. The blond pushed back her bangs and rubbed her eyes so they would focus. Though she couldn't see very well without her glasses, the SeeD would be able to make out what time it was. "Great... 3 am... looks like I'm not going to go back to sleep... again..." She said and rolled out of bed.  
  
_in a field of paper flowers  
  
and candy clouds of lullaby  
  
i lie inside myself for hours  
  
and watch my purple sky fly over me_  
  
Quistis had taken an early shower and was already ready for the day in every way. She had just about done every piece of work there was to do for this week in her classes to become an instructor once more, and now all she had to do was lay back down on her messy bed and watch the darkness of the night turn to the light of early morning. Quistis lay on her back with her arms to her sides and her legs stretched all the way out. What did these dreams mean...?   
  
The young woman soon found herself day dreaming... she had to get away from this place... if only she could go to her 'day dream land' that she often went whenever she didn't have enough sleep. Quistis smiled at this thought and closed her eyes... seeing nothing but purple skies of dusk, candy shaped clouds and flowers moving like paper in the wind...  
  
_i linger in the doorway  
  
of alarm clock screaming monsters calling my name  
  
let me stay  
  
where the wind will whisper to me  
  
where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story_  
  
The sound of her buzzing machine woke Quistis up from her day dream, though it felt as though she had been sleeping... and can't wake up. Half there and half still in bed, Quistis got up and turned off the machine. She straightened her hair, though she hadn't moved around at all in her bed so it wasn't messy, then tried to walk out of her room... but she tried to walk through the door way at the same time she pulled it open, causing her to crash into it and hit her head. "Ow!" She exclaimed, "Stupid door..." she cursed and shook her head. Hopefully that had woken her up however doubtful it was.   
  
Quistis wandered down the halls of the dormitories... forgetting where she was going and bumping into student after student. Though she was looking straight ahead, she could not see where she was going. It was like her glasses showed a different reality rather than the one that others experienced. To Quistis, she was walking in her field of paper flowers under the candy clouds and purple sky....  
  
_if you need to leave the world you live in  
  
lay your head down and stay a while  
  
though you may not remember dreaming  
  
something waits for you to breathe again _  
  
Quistis did not know how, but she ended up in the headmaster's office when she awoke from her day dream hours later. She looked around the headmaster's office, confused as to how and why she was here! Did she do something wrong? Did he call her? What was going on...? Wait... what had she been day dreaming of, again!?  
  
"Quistis Trepe, I understand you have not been at your best the past few weeks... care to share an explanation with me?" Headmaster Cid asked Quistis and she looked around in confusion, but then decided to tell him what was on her mind.   
  
"Sir? I would like a short vacation time, sir. I have not been feeling well or focused and I feel that a little time off would do me good, sir." Quistis said. Cid thought about this long and hard.... he examined Quistis's half conscious figure and how she seemed to sway from side to side while the eyes behind her glasses seemed to be far off in her own world.   
  
"Request granted. You have two weeks... please, take time to relax. We need you here at your best! Dismissed!"   
  
_in my field of paper flowers   
  
and candy clouds of lullaby   
  
i lie inside myself for hours  
  
and watch my purple sky fly over me  
_  
"Where will I find my purple sky...?" Quistis thought to herself, the thought of that new beach town to the west of Deling city! It was a great get-away place, she thought...  
  
--- 


	2. Romance

A/N: The song is "Gunning down Romance" by Savage Garden.   
  
**_Paper Flowers_**

**CHAPTER TWO: Romance  
**  
"At least the drinks here aren't half bad..." Seifer Almasy thought aloud as he took a sip of the hard drink that he had acquired as soon as he came to this 'beach party'. He had been jumping from town to town for a while now... he had heard rumors like 'Balamb Garden wants revenge' and 'Galbadia needs a new leader after they assassinate the old' but what did he care about them?! As of now, he had no affiliation or contact with either side! 'Who gives a shit about what they do...' Seifer thought as he emptied his glass and made a very brief sour expression. 'Damn, that's strong...'  
  
Seifer grabbed a plate of chips and dip and walked to the edge of the party to sit in the sand near the sea with his legs outstretched in front of him. And though he was off in his own world, he could still hear the lyrics to the song that was playing at the party...  
  
_Love and other moments are just chemical reaction in your brain.  
  
And feelings of aggressions are the absence of the love drug in your veins  
  
love come quickly  
  
because i feel my self-esteem is caving in  
  
it's on the brink  
  
love come quickly   
  
because i don't think i can keep this monster in  
  
it in my skin  
_  
"Damn straight... who needs it..." Seifer said to the music. He picked up a chip and began to dip it angrily. This void in him tore him apart. It was as though there was nothing where there is supposed to be... something! The void was filled when he was with Rinoa... but that bitch wasn't going to come near him now! Oh no... so he tried to defend the woman who he saw as his mother... he was 'brainwashed'! As if anyone would believe that coming from the biggest screw up in Garden...   
  
Seifer began to throw the chips at the crashing waves and water that came close to him.... barely 4 feet away. The Knight glanced across the dusk of the sky and the sun that was setting the sea ablaze. He saw a few people swimming in the ocean... it was not dangerous to swim here, thanks to the nets the town had set up. He had thought that that's what he'd be doing... swimming... Seifer was in nothing but loose trunks and sandals. But now, he didn't feel up to it.   
  
"Dammit all to hell!" Seifer yelled out and threw a hand full of chips at the sea. He bent one knee and rested one of his elbows on it.   
  
"I see your temper hasn't changed, Seifer Almasy..." A womanly, yet strong voice said from behind him. Seifer's back stiffened and he sat straight up while his eyes widened and he stared ahead of him. "Aren't you going to say 'hello'?" Seifer relaxed and a smirk slid across his face.   
  
"What are you doing here, Instructor?" Seifer asked. Quistis forced a hard laugh and sat down on her knees to the side of her former student. Seifer gave her a sideways glance... she was in a blue and pink flowery bikini with a long sash across her bottom half that matched the flowery pattern and she had paper flowers over her left ear. 'Beautiful...' Seifer thought as his expression involuntarily softened. 'Just as beautiful as I remember... though it's only been 2 months...' He thought.   
  
"I'm taking a small vacation to myself... this place is the perfect for a getaway. I assume that you'll agree, Almasy?" Quistis asked coldly... cold enough to pierce his heart. She noticed the strange stare he was giving her.... "Is there something on my face?" She asked.   
  
"No," Seifer said simply and looked back at the sea. He picked up some more chips and just crumbled them in his hands.   
  
"I see you've kept yourself busy..." She said as she looked at the chips in the water and the crumbled ones around them.   
  
"Look, instructor, do you have a reason to be here or are you just bugging me for the fun of it?!" Seifer barked.   
  
"... Seifer..." Quistis said, shocked. He had NEVER talked to her this way before! "What's wrong...?"  
  
"Nothing! Nothing at all! I'm the happiest god damned war-criminal there is around, SeeD Instructor number 14!" Seifer hissed, letting out some of his frustration... though she was the last person he wanted to blame it on, she was the closest.   
  
"That's all you think I am...?! You don't even see me as a person...? Just an instructor... never as a friend?" Quistis asked, hurt. She had always thought that, even though she was his instructor, she was his friend. "Well... if I'm so painful to talk to.. then," Quistis stood up, "I'll just leave."  
  
_Love and other socially acceptable emotions are morphine  
  
they're morphine  
  
Cleverly concealing primal urges often felt but rarely seen  
  
Rarely seen  
  
love i beg you  
  
lift me up into that privileged point of view  
  
the world of two  
  
love don't leave me  
  
because i console myself that Hallmark cards are true  
  
I really do  
  
_ "Dammit!" Seifer yelled out loud and then threw the entire tray into the water. 'What the hell is WITH me?!' Seifer said. This wasn't him... and the fact that he had let out his anger on Quistis did not help. Even at the orphanage he had been over protective of the girl.. he was the only one older than her and so he felt he HAD to protect her... but they were always friends.. always play-mates. Sure, whenever it rained he pushed her in the mud... pulled her hair... threw dirt at her... beheaded her Barbie dolls... but he just wanted her attention! He always helped her up and helped her get clean again... hell, he even let her have a couple free shots at him and LET her push him in the mud! But, then again.. he had never lost his temper or yelled at her before...   
  
Seifer turned around and searched the party for Quistis and there she was... in a corner of the party surrounded by men who didn't even LOOK like they deserve her. Smiling devilishly, Seifer thought of a plan to say 'I'm sorry' in his own little way. The tall man stood up and brushed the sand from his body, then walked into the heart of the party. He crossed through it, ignoring the flirtatious glances from the women of the party... he was saving his charm for a certain other woman.   
  
"Hello, fellas. I see you've met my girl," Seifer said as he came up behind Quistis and put an arm around her shoulders. Quistis looked over at Seifer, just as stunned as the four men were scared.   
  
"(Seifer... what are you doing..?)" Quistis whispered as her cheeks turned pink.   
  
"I'll see you around, gentlemen," He said, ignoring Quistis, "and not around her." The men hastily backed away and found the counter of the bar... hiding from the eyes of Seifer Almasy!   
  
"Seifer?" Quistis asked.   
  
"You're too good for them, anyway..." Seifer said and dropped his arm from around Quistis... the loss of that comfortable and warming weight made Quistis's smile fall some.   
  
"What? Why would you care?" Quistis asked. 'Because I care about you...' Seifer answered, hoping that Quistis had suddenly received the ability to read minds.   
  
"... then I'll leave you to your hunt for dates." Seifer said coolly with a frown and turned to walk away, but Quistis's gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him.   
  
"Can I have this dance at least?"  
  
"If you wish, Instructor," Seifer said and turned to face her. She grabbed his hands and lead him to the dance floor.   
  
"It's Quistis."  
  
_I'm gunning down romance  
  
It never did a thing for me  
  
but heartache and misery  
  
ain't nothing but a tragedy  
_  
Their dance was slow and graceful, also very intimate; they were close to each other and holding each other the entire time. Neither complained about the lack of space between them or the way they moved as one. They stared deep into each other's eyes; Quistis's aqua blue eyes rained over Seifer's forest green ones... both of them seemed to melt into one another without words or communication.   
  
They soon found that people around them were leaving... it was getting late... but that didn't matter to them. As they stopped dancing, Sefier jerked his head towards the shore where he had been sitting. He began walking towards that spot, and Quistis grabbed his hand to lead her there. Mildly shocked but not wanting her to let go, Seifer held on to her hand. They sat down together on the sand, Quistis leaned against Seifer's side with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist. They both watched the calming motions of the sea together.   
  
"Seifer?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I think I should get going... it's late and I should find a hotel..."   
  
_Love don't leave me_  
  
"You can stay at my place." Seifer said matter-of-factly and looked down at her. Quistis thought to herself logically... staying the night over at Seifer Almasy's? The most dangerous man on the wanted list of Garden? But she did not want to leave the protection of his arms.   
  
"... are you sure?" Quistis asked, unsure of herself.   
  
"Yeah, I'm sure... are you?" Seifer asked as he rubbed his rough cheek against Quistis's soft one.   
  
"Let's go, then..." Quistis said as she giggled due to the tickling feeling of Seifer's whiskers against her skin.   
  
_Take these broken wings  
  
I'm going to take these broken wings  
  
and learn to fly  
  
and learn to fly away  
  
and learn to fly away  
  
I'm gunning down romance_


	3. Unforgettable Night

A/N: I. Don't. Like. This. Chapter! I think I should find a better song... tell me what you think!

**_Paper Flowers_**

**CHAPTER THREE: Unforgettable Nights**  
  
'One week and two days... she's been here, sleeping in my bed... and here I am,' Seifer thought to himself as he looked over at his bed, 'sleeping on the couch... maybe... she won't mind... if...' Seifer thought to himself as he sat up from the couch and looked over at the sleeping beauty with a smile. Both her and Seifer had fallen asleep in their clothes...er... bathing suits due to their fatigue after a party. They both were tired, and tonight sleeping on the couch wasn't appealing to Seifer... but Quistis was already sleeping... so... maybe she wouldn't notice...  
  
Seifer got up and tip-toed over to his small, twin bed leaning against the wall. Quistis's figure was lighted by the lights from outside his window, and he saw that she had her back up against the wall with her legs lightly bent and her hands holding the pillow her head rested on. Her breathing was slow and relaxed under the thin sheet, but her forehead had beads of sweat forming and her face was anything but relaxed... 'Is she having another nightmare? Damn, that'd be at least two every night...' Seifer thought.   
  
"Don't... don't run... don't... leave me..." Quistis said in muffled breaths. "I'm.. not....... leav... ing... leave me... stop it... don't cry..." Quistis said and her eyes squeezed shut to try to stop the tears, but they rolled down her cheeks and onto Seifer's pillow.   
  
"Quistis... I'm right here," Seifer said and slid into the sheets with her.   
  
_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
  
And I don't want to go home right now  
  
And all I can taste is this moment  
  
And all I can breathe is your life  
  
'Cause sooner or later it's over  
  
I just don't want to miss you tonight  
  
And I don't want the world to see me  
  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
  
When every thing's made to be broken  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
  
_ "Shhh... don't cry..." Seifer said and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb, letting the rest of his fingers caress the sides of her face. "Calm down." He said as he took her hands and held them in his. He looked into her face as her expression lightened some, but she was still in her nightmare. Quistis's breathing increased rapidly as she tried to hold back her dreaming sobs.   
  
"I.. I can't breathe!" Quistis yelled and her eyes opened suddenly. She saw Seifer next to her and more tears rolled down her hot cheeks. She gasped for air as she let herself sob and she took her hands from Seifers to cover her face. Seifer put his arms around her and brought her to him, her face buried in his bare chest.   
  
"It's alright... it was just a dream..." he said to calm her down.  
  
"No... the pain.. it was too real... Seifer..." Quistis said as she lay against him. Seifer laid on his back and Quistis uses his chest as a pillow and wrapped one arm around his chest as he put one arm around her and rested his hand on her waist. "It was... too real..."  
  
_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
  
When everything feels like the movies  
  
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive  
  
And I don't want the world to see me  
  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
  
When every thing's made to be broken  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
_  
For several minutes, they both were silent... blissfully sharing this moment with one another... though, it didn't feel real... it was as though they weren't in their bodies... like they were somewhere else with one another... their day dreams inner twined with one another.. in a field of flowers... where they were themselves and talked freely about everything without judgment...  
  
They spoke of life without each other... Quistis living in Garden and trying to regain her instructor's license...  
  
and of her ending her infatuation with Squall. They spoke of Seifer... and what really happened to him... and what would happen if he ever did go back to Garden. They both knew he would not be accepted... he would be looked down on and persecuted in people's eyes...   
  
They spoke of life with each other... and how it would be running everyday... Quistis becoming a deserter and wanted... then trying to find their place in the world which would turn their back on them... but they would still have each other, and that's all they needed.   
  
_And I don't want the world to see me  
  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
  
When every thing's made to be broken  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
  
And I don't want the world to see me  
  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
  
When every thing's made to be broken  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
  
I just want you to know who I am  
_  
"But Balamb is still my home... my life is there... I couldn't leave, they wouldn't let me..." Quistis said. "They wouldn't understand..."   
  
"Then let's make them! If they come for you, I won't let you go!" Seifer said.  
  
"Come with me, then..." Quistis said. "You said it yourself... you have no where to go, really... why not try to pick it up where you left off?"   
  
"...they wouldn't let me in. They would just chase me off like a dog..."  
  
"But if you joined again, they would have to accept you!"   
  
"..."  
  
--  
  
A/N: I bet now you're wondering: "Hey, Fujin, how can you screw this up? How can you make this into a tearful depressing story with the past two romance chapters???" You just watch!  
  
R&R 


End file.
